Footprints: Death and Resurrection
by Little Piper Girl
Summary: Thoughts of teammates at two very important events in life... and death.


Disclaimer: Chrono Trigger and its affiliates are certainly not mine. I just enjoy writing stories about them.  
  
*  
  
Footprints: Death and Resurrection  
  
Little Piper Girl *  
  
She hadn't known what to expect.  
It had been her first time at a real fair and running into him had been the best thing of her life. Now, she could only watch in horror as he sacrificed everything for everything.  
If possible, she loved him all the more for it. Even though she didn't understand him. How could he do that? Just weeks ago, they'd been total strangers who met by chance at the fair. Now, she knew she couldn't face the day without him. How could he be willing to do anything to keep all these people safe? How could he give himself up in a place so far away from home, for a people that would probably come to fear and hate him?  
Sobs racked her body as the light from the alien blinded her. The figure of one lone boy stood before the might of Lavos and was swept away by the wave of destruction.  
  
It was all her fault.  
If she hadn't followed through with that crazy invention that actually seemed to work, he wouldn't be risking himself for their safety. If she hadn't brought attention to the girl with him, he best friend would still be with her, probably playing games and winning her Silver Points.  
Now, because of her invention, her foolish ambitions, her childhood friend would soon be no more. He was acting on that trait he called honor. She had laughed at him for it before, but in truth it was so ingrained in him that she couldn't imagine him any other way.  
Tears continuously leaked from her horrified eyes as the youth offered the ultimate sacrifice in an attempt to kill the beast they had sworn to slay.  
  
He couldn't bring himself to cry.  
In fact, he didn't quite know what he felt at the moment. The loss he had suffered throughout his life had made him used to the company of misery. However, since this boy had come into his life, he'd felt nothing but pride and joy. Watching this group, helping them, he thought he was finally allowed his shot at happiness. But now, the misery again walked the edges of his mind, looking for a place to sink in its claws.  
He couldn't let it this time. The boy had taught him that much. He couldn't let his emotions cloud his judgment, even as someone else acted on them fully.  
Forcing his small battered body to follow his orders, he gently touched his sword in honor of he courage his comrade and pupil showed.  
  
Nothing cracked his senses.  
He didn't think he'd know it even if it did. He hadn't been made to feel. Just to destroy the life that his friend was protecting at all costs.  
Since his reactivation and adventures, he felt a strange attachment for the teens he'd awoken to. He'd come to know their distinct personalities and knew commands now came to him that he wasn't originally programmed to have. It was all their doing. Their hope and unflagging optimism had mystified his intelligence. They kept going, no matter what, and they pulled him along too. He was only too willing to record everything that had happened up to now.  
Now, though, he was recording, but he doubted any would have need of these images again. The sight of it now was almost too much even for him to process.  
So, he watched, emotionless, trying to puzzle out human thought processes. He didn't notice how his chest plates felt tighter and how his gears seemed to want to slow and stop, almost as though the sight before him made his operating system not want to go on.  
  
She watched in a stunned sort of silence.  
The teen that had shoved himself in her life and turned her world upside-down was doing nothing she would have thought to do. Giving oneself for the betterment of the tribe was the most honorable thing in the world to do. She saluted her young friend for choosing that path.  
She'd only known the boy a short time, but his skills and charm had made her fall in love with him. Not as a woman felt for a man! No! She had someone else for that. Rather as a woman would feel for a younger brother. The first time she thought of that, it had been a good surprise. He never ceased to amaze her, his ability to make others feel good and happy, even just by his presence. He had made her smile on several occasions just by sitting beside her during a rest break.  
Stroking her fur skirt, she watched with pride as he gathered magical energy about him like a shield.  
  
He couldn't help but admire the fool.  
From his vantage point below, he kept his face toward the ground so none would see the appreciative smirk that flitted across his face.  
  
*  
  
All she felt was joy.  
Not able to contain herself, the princess threw her arms around the man she loved and almost wept anew when a warm arm enveloped her waist.  
Life had seemed so bleak without him. Everyone's spirits had plummeted. No one really felt any hope towards their goal. But now she knew they could fight on. She could feel the emotion swelling within her as the group behind her began moving. However, she ignored it all. For her, saving the world could come later.  
Her love was back.  
  
She couldn't hold back the tears any longer.  
Receiving a soft smile from him, the inventor collapsed on the ground and sobbed out all the frustration and exhaustion she felt. It may have been her fault he died but she also had a hand in giving him back the life he so deservedly had. A hand on her shoulder and a glance at a green countenance gave her strength to stand and smile at the two hugging under the tree. With a little luck he wouldn't blame her like she blamed herself. If he did. Well she'd worry about that after they saved the world.  
Her best friend was back.  
  
He felt like a grinning idiot.  
Nodding with respect at the red head, the frog-knight went about comforting the rest of the party. A smile here, a hand up there, he refrained from even looking at his arch-nemesis. He ended up supporting his purple haired friend after she'd fallen in tears.  
He was ready to happily relinquish the responsibility he'd been holding. No more would the party look to him for decisions. He was tired of the one being in charge of all the others. He wanted nothing more than to follow orders and return home to his time.  
Their true leader was back.  
  
The tightness he'd come to idly wonder about had vanished.  
After confirmation that he was indeed revived, the robot sat and began recording the events into his memory banks. Someday, when all these friends had gone, leaving only their descendents, he would replay this file, lovingly.  
He was ready to wreak his revenge on the being that had brought this about. It amazed him really. The same thing that brought great sadness with it also provided a means for correcting the same wrong. In a way it would bring about its own demise. Simply by existing. But, sensing the others hadn't thought that far, he kept such things to himself.  
The last hope for a future could now fight.  
  
She began to wonder if happiness was indeed a weakness.  
That was all she felt, and the cave woman wouldn't have it any other way. They'd come a long way on a chance, but it had proved true. When they had almost given up hope he had proven himself important to the. "flow?" of the day after tomorrow. She could now continue to have a reason to be proud of the red head.  
She traded smiles with their greener friend and watched the two under the tree with a smile. They deserved every bit of happiness they could have in these darker times. It was only the calm before the storm. Somehow, though, it didn't matter.  
He little brother was back.  
  
Damn.  
The fool was back. Somehow that passionate thought couldn't quell the mysterious, cloying, lighter mood.  
  
*  
  
The red haired youth looked at the stars above.  
A whisper of a name crossed his thoughts, almost like a memory of a memory.  
He glanced back at the sleeping figures of his friends. They had risked everything to bring him back from certain death. Not everyday you found a friend like that. And here he had five- no, six, he amended, looking at a shadow in a tree. All of them. all for himself.  
And yet.  
There was one spot still empty, still aching from loss. It had been filled in truth only a few times. The sight of her above him on the stairs looking down. His surprise reflected back in her face. The sight of her before him, ready to defy her heritage and defend her people. She made him feel ready to do the same.  
He wondered what had become of the princess who'd only been a part of his life a short time. He knew, he would never forget her, even if he'd never see her again. And he wondered why Fate would be so cruel as to provide a way for the swordsman and leave the sorceress behind.  
"Schala."  
The first word he uttered since resurrection would be one he never forgot.  
Bowing in respect to the night sky and her memory, he turned to go.  
As he slept, a star winked and lit the group throughout the night with its celestial radiance.  
  
*  
  
Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while and leave footprints in our hearts.  
And we are never, ever, the same.  
(Source Unknown) 


End file.
